Thank you for all your fantastic feedback fellas. I really do appreciate the fact that you all took time to read, digest and dish out some responses. I really do feel that it is important for me to thank the AC community for providing such a good resource for audiophiles and aspiring audiophiles to broker ideas. I don't find it to be any coincidence that a many members share, or at one time shared the same components as mine.
I first felt a bit of disappointment in my system when it didn't stir me the way that i had expected. Sure i got the tranparency and the huge soundstage, but as many have alluded to, it lacked a sense of involvement and emotion. For a while there, i really did consider dumping all the stuff I had just to recouperate a bit of what i spent. I do realize that the amplification i'm using is the bottleneck, afterall, 30 wpc is 30 wpc, and i've heard of people bottoming out their amplifiers with magnepans. Yet again, there i am justifying the lack of musicality from my magnepans. You all gotta realize, i've been lusting after magnepans for a good 13 years, and i'm only 25 right now. I have a certain bias towards them that i shouldn't have. But I digress..... my mind is scrambled right now, so please don't dismiss this post.
I will keep the magnepans for now, but in the meantime, i will try the Tannoy DC1000's (they weren't d100's) in my system and see if this efficient (relatively) speakers sound with my setup. I have read and heard about how the B200's are drop dead gorgeous when it comes to delivering an airy and spacious sound. I just don't know how convincing of a job it can do, since my magnepans spoiled me with their dipole dispersion. As everybody knows, i'm not a stickler for bass, as i ran the magnepans without a subwoofer, i don't know how the B200's can produce any bass with an open baffle. I'm weirded out by the B200's if you cannot already tell. It defies convention and i don't know, or should i even care how it makes sound. I just want it to sound right, In all honesty, i haven't even owned a set of respectable standmount speakers, a jump to an open baffle, single driver, x-overless speaker would certainly be different (i've always been one for underestimation
)
As for my musical preferences, I do like classical, jazz and occasionally, popular music (seldom). Once in a while, whilst listening to my setup (Teac al700-p, Tripplite IS-250 transformer isolator, Ipod Nano - source, eichmann express 6 speaker cables, and the MG12's) i do get a sense of intimacy, but i hardly get the urge to turn it up louder. And this is where i can draw a parallel with Richard, it doesn't seem like a very inviting speaker, and dare i say "snobby", it seems like it's performing during a rehearsal, and it never really delivers when asked. It's stuck somewhere among the top 8/10th, but never manages to nail it down. This is just my opinion, it's not a bad speaker, but perhaps at my age, not what i need.
How would the B200's in an open baffle configuration sound in low volume situations? are they good or do they give up something in that department. I know the maggies are brilliant when it comes to that regard, but if the B200's can do the same, surely i'll get a set.
Right now, i'm probably narrowing down my choices to: Visaton B200 OB configuration, Rocket Ref 1's, and Aurum Cantus Leisure 2.
Thanks, everybody for being my inner audiophile's shrink. I really do appreciate your input.
At this stage, i can wholeheartedly say that my mind is absolutely beat down.
Carson
